


Tied in Green

by Ayri



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Affection, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Angst, Arguing, Cats, Coming Out, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Being Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Has OCD, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders has Intrusive Thoughts, Dark Thoughts, Emotional Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Food, Friends in the Night, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Friendship, Gender Issues, Impulse Control, Intrusive Thoughts, Isolation, Magic, Magical Self-Harm (In A Way), Mental Health Issues, Nonbinary Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Painting, Parents who Try, Passing Discussion of Triggering Content, Pets, Pining, Platonic Cuddling, Pre-Accepting Anxiety Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, References to Depression, Rejection, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Worth Issues, Shapeshifter Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Single Parents, Sympathetic Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, Tags Contain Spoilers, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Violent Thoughts, being ignored, death mention, disease mentions, negative self-talk, questionable parenting, references to violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29616360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayri/pseuds/Ayri
Summary: Lonliness, feeling ignored, and an unrequited crush sitting and having fun without you in the room next door. Remus had enough reasons to want to get out of the house and drown his sorrows in corner store snacks. But when a strange being in a trench coat asks him what he would give for the chance to change himself, he's even more glad he left. What would you be willing to lose for the chance to be softer around the edges? Even your life?
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders
Comments: 20
Kudos: 23





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

> ♪ [Tied in Green Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0A402UBd41x3sCkm1GhNVH?si=0eca5ce93e8248e7) ♫
> 
> It was supposed to be a one-shot _I swear_ , your honour!  
> The teen & up is to be safe because of some of the subjects in it, but it leans towards a gen rating.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus goes on a depression walk and comes back a new man. In a sense.

Remus isn’t ashamed of himself. He agrees that sometimes he doesn’t like the things that suck him in. The things that he can’t get out of his head and make him feel horrible for even thinking. Those things upset him, _too_. But ultimately, he’s not ashamed of who he is or what he likes. But he’s pretty certain everyone else is. 

He doesn’t keep friends for very long. His mom pushes him aside more often than not. Remus can be himself in private, but not here, she says. It’s what she always says. People will laugh at his jokes in school, but they never actually want to hang out. Remus is alone again, listening to his brother and friends laugh in the other room. They sound like they’re having fun and he’s jealous. But he knows better than to ask to join. He would do something to ruin it for Roman, anyway. Remus knocked twice at his desk.

Roman gets all awkward and weird and it’s clearly just a pity invite even if Remus _did_ ask to join. They don’t make fun of him, but there’s not much of an effort to include him either. Roman and his friends don’t let him in on inside jokes, don’t ask his opinions, and sometimes talked like he’s not there. They acknowledge him if he talks, but that’s it. Remus doesn’t get included, which hurts more than sitting alone, sometimes.

Remus only wanted to spend time with his brother. His friends are always over and Remus never has the chance anymore. He’s too busy with his homework when they’re not over. He missed Roman. And Remus couldn’t deny that it hurt that Roman always seemed to make time for his friends, but never for Remus.

They used to be inseparable. His mom used to joke that they were twins because Remus never acted his age and they looked so alike. They weren’t supposed to grow apart. When they were kids, they planned on having adventures together. But this was the third time this week alone that Remus is stuck listening to Roman playfully bicker with his friends the next room over.

The headphones weren’t enough sometimes, and tonight was one of those times. Remus sighed and dropped his computer headphones on his desk. He wasn’t paying any attention to this book, anyway. They were playing a four-player game with three players and kept lamenting that the game was too hard. But they never asked him to join. He kept hoping they would. He considered just going over and inviting himself, but he didn’t feel like being pitied today. And what if he said something? What if he did something? Remus rapped his knuckle on the desk again.

Remus slipped on his boots and a windbreaker and headed out of his room, glancing into Roman’s open door as he passed. They were laughing at a TV show together. He headed down the stairs with a sigh. “I’m going for a walk, ma,” Remus called into his mother’s office as he passed and she held her finger over her lips while she was on the phone. Right. Remus headed out the front door and locked up behind himself.

The fall night was enchanting. It was somewhat chilly for a windbreaker, but Remus welcomed it. Remus enjoyed having sleeves to play with, so he liked fall and winter. This windbreaker has a zipper on the cuff that Remus fiddled with while he walked down the street. He didn’t have anywhere in mind to go, honestly. He just wanted to get out of there. It didn’t feel right. 

He could go to the corner store that was near his house that had a great selection of weird gummy candies. He could also go for some pizza-flavoured chips. This was a stomach ache waiting to happen, but Remus wasn’t exactly known for self-control. He was known for taking dares from strangers and getting suspended for scaling the wall of the school just to see if he could.

He kicked at an acorn as he walked down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets. He was going to eat an entire package of pizza chips and he knew it. And they always made his breath smell like throw up, which Remus thought was incredibly cool that the flavourings could taste so good and smell so bad as soon as they got wet. 

No one else liked his pizza-chip breath, though. Actually, he was the only one he knew who liked those pizza chips. Sour cream and onion sounded good, too. He liked to eat them with the pizza chips. If you got the right brands of chips, it was like eating pizza and ranch. His mom might get mad at him for just leaving to buy snacks at the corner store, so he’d need a way to hide the bag from her.

Remus wished he knew how to reign himself in, he honestly did. He was always running his mouth and getting himself in trouble before he even knew what was happening. He knew he could be unpleasant, too. And he was worried about what he was capable of. Remus had some bad thoughts and dark knowledge and he didn’t want to act on them, but they were there. He knew how to do lots of bad things. In a weak moment he could, right? He didn’t want to… but…

He tried his hardest, but he wasn’t soft and cuddly. Roman’s friend Patton was sweet and nice and Remus would give anything just to sit with him and watch a movie sometime. Patton talked through movies, too. They could whisper to each other and split a bowl of popcorn. It would be amazing. Patton smelled like fabric softener and made Remus feel bubbly with delight.

But Remus unsettled Patton. He was too nice to say it, but Roman asked him to dial it back for Patton’s sake more than once. Logan at least was interested when Remus brought up interesting things that popped into his head. But Remus had seen Patton recoil before. And Roman would sigh and roll his eyes and tell Remus that they shouldn’t talk about that. Patton would apologize sometimes. 

That generally made Remus feel worse because it’s not like he _intended_ to freak out Patton, but it wasn’t Patton’s fault for not liking the subject matter, either. They just came out of Remus’s mouth and it was his inability to not run his mouth that was the cause. Remus pulled at the zipper a few times, feeling bad all over again for it. It had been a while since Remus’s last fuck up with Patton, but Remus never forgot. He knew he should stop pining pointlessly.

Someone was coming up on the sidewalk drew Remus’s eye and out of his self-pity pit. It looked like there was a fellow weirdo out tonight. Someone in a stylistic fox mask and a trench coat was coming down towards Remus on the sidewalk from over the small hill Remus had to walk up to get to the corner store. The outfit reminded Remus of a comic book villain. Actually, if they flipped the fox mask for a kabuki one, they’d basically be _Yokai_ from _Big Hero Six_. Remus wondered what a cosplayer or whatever was doing on a nighttime walk, and also if Remus could join them. Remus had a mostly put-together _Deathstroke_ cosplay in his closet he could go put on.

“Hey, can I ask what the costume is? It looks great,” Remus waved when he got close enough for the stranger to hear.

“Thanks, but this is just me,” The stranger shrugged, walking up to Remus. “How would _you_ like to be someone else, though?” The stranger asked out of absolutely nowhere.

“I’d give anything,” Remus replied before he even considered it.

“Even your soul?” The stranger asked, and Remus stopped to weigh his options. What was Remus doing with his soul, anyway? “I kid, you don’t actually have to think about that,” The stranger chuckled out a deep rattling noise that shook their whole torso while they shook their head. “Nothing so permanent. How about some _time_?” They offered again, an amused smile barely peeking out from under the mask.

“Like sitting through a seminar or something?” Remus asked, shifting his weight on his feet and furrowing his eyebrows.

“No, that’s so dreadfully boring. Just a bit off the end for as long as you use what I’m offering. It’s a very fair trade,” They reassured him dismissively. This was _red flag central_ for some grade-A weird, dangerous shit. Awesome. Not awesome? Remus wasn’t sure. He still wanted to be someone else.

“Oh, is this some deal with the devil shit?” Remus hummed curiously, still not sure how to parse this situation.

“No, no. Not affiliated. Just someone that gets called the devil often. I’m sure you can relate,” The masked stranger waved their hands.

“Boy, do I ever,” Remus agreed and crossed his arms. Remus’s stupid suggestions often got him in the hot seat. Not that he didn’t deserve it, but… “The exact amount of time? Not some stupid equation where I’m getting screwed like a prom date?” Remus did the smart thing and double-check for once instead of his impulsiveness taking the wheel.

“Damn, who are you dealing with usually? No, the exact amount of time. Second per second off the natural lifespan. If you started taking better care of yourself, you’d barely lose a thing,” They shrugged, speaking as if they didn’t understand the distrust.

“What’s in it for you?” Remus furrowed his eyebrows at the masked stranger, tapping his finger on his crossed arms.

“I get the time and the entertainment value of it all. The paranormal gets boring without doing this kind of thing every once in a while,” The stranger twisted their hand in the air and leaned on one leg. They put their hand on their hip and looked Remus up and down. 

Remus was still suspicious about the whole thing. Something-something and deals with the fae? Not that this looked like a fairy or anything. Actually, how would Remus know how to identify the fae? The fae could look like anything, and Remus doesn’t have any iron on him. 

“Iron does nothing to me, anyway. Soft and cuddly, right? Something Patton would like? I’ve got just the thing,” They held up a finger and a bright green ribbon materialized around it.

“Ah, didn’t realize you were listening,” Remus chuckled to himself. The stranger clearly knew what Remus wanted. He hoped that was the only thing they heard, though. “You know what, fuck me up, fam,” Remus declared, holding up his hand in the air triumphantly. The ribbon appeared in Remus’s hand and he gripped it enthusiastically.

“Just tie it onto yourself. Take it off to be human again, so put it somewhere easy to reach. And if it goes more than a small distance from you, it’ll show up in your hand again. This is only yours, so don’t bother trying to use it on someone else or giving it away. It’ll never work. If you try to show it off, it also won’t work, because that’s a fucking headache. You’ll have to change somewhere private. Have fun and try not to get yourself killed, please. That sucks for the both of us,” They sounded delighted while Remus looked at the silky ribbon. It was a bright green, like fresh leaves in spring and not subtle at all. Exactly his style. Remus shoved the ribbon in his pocket and bowed deeply, twisting his hand in front of him and stepping one leg to the side.

“So what does it do?” Remus asked, looking up to the masked stranger from his bow. They had lifted their mask just enough for Remus to make out a sharp-toothed grin as they faded from existence. Well, that was delightfully creepy. “Oh, points for style,” Remus hummed, and he made out the faintest deep, rattling cackle that also faded away. 

What a nice… whatever that was. Mysterious entities that could read thoughts and create things from nothing were good in Remus’s book. He felt the ribbon between his fingers in his pocket. It felt pleasantly warm. He could find out what it did by putting it on. But this probably wasn’t private enough to use it. He was out in the open. Maybe it only mattered if people were looking at him? Well, he still had his chip-acquisition duty to get to.

Remus resumed his walk down the street. He couldn’t have anticipated a depression walk resulting in a deal with a demon or whatever, but it certainly was a better outcome than usual. He continued to feel the toasty ribbon in his pocket as he walked down the road. The possibilities filled his mind as he trekked on. Soft and cuddly, huh? Another Patton? That would be weird. A bear? Bears probably aren’t cuddly for very long. Remus would love to be a bear, though. Remus, but capable of fighting his impulsiveness? Unrealistic, even for magic.

Were there… weird magic people always listening to his thoughts? He really hoped not. Remus had some awful thoughts. Terrible, horrible, sickening thoughts. Thoughts he was always thankful that at least no one could hear. And someone heard. Magical beings probably wouldn’t listen all the time, right? If they were listening to all of his thoughts, they never would have talked with Remus. Or they would have treated Remus way worse. He also couldn’t imagine some weird magical entity wanting to listen to Remus thinking about what cooked stink bugs might smell like and what he would look like with a giraffe neck even when he wasn’t having shitty thoughts. Maybe they only listened out for random wishes. Was that a genie? No, there weren’t three wishes and the fox mask demon got something in return.

He should be more concerned about literally cutting his life short with a magic ribbon, but he wasn’t. Remus couldn’t think out that far. Every time he questioned if it was the right idea, he wondered what he got to turn into. It was something non-human, and it seemed like the random magic stranger didn’t like things that would make a big kerfuffle, so it was probably something that would blend in. It made the most sense with what they said. Unless it was all a trick, anyway.

Remus opened the convenience store door and made a bee-line to the snacks aisle. He grabbed some gummy brains and rats and examined the shelf for anything else. Candy moustaches? Sure, why not? Remus turned aisles to grab chips and headed up to the register, also tossing up a bottle of soda from a cooler near the register. 

The cashier kept one eye on the TV while checking Remus out, not even acknowledging him. That was normal, at least. Remus waved after he picked up his bag of snacks, but the cashier was staunchly watching the TV again. He cracked open the bags of chips to snack on as he walked down the sidewalk, taking a handful of each flavour and shoving them all into his mouth at once.

It was a tasty combo. If Remus ate them down enough, he could roll the bags and make them easier to sneak past everyone, and since they were open, he’d have to eat them evenly, anyway. It was a win-win. Maybe not for Remus’s life span, but that was years out and Remus didn’t know how to even conceptualize that. He could start jogging or something. That’s healthy, right? Probably not enough to cancel out eating an entire bag’s worth of potato chips on the way home. But he already planned on doing that and just because he got a magic ribbon didn’t mean he needed to go changing his very important impulsive plans.

How did his lifespan work, anyway? Mm, chips. Remus decided he didn’t care. Was that an awful thought? Well, maybe as long as it was only Remus’s life span. It’s kind of like deciding to only eat fast food or something. He could ask the mysterious fox mask person if he ever saw them again, but otherwise, there wasn’t much else to do about it. He had more important things to do, like make sure he ate the same amount of chips from each bag.

The walk back to his house went much faster as Remus gorged himself on chips. He rolled up the remaining chips bags so they wouldn’t stick out of the shopping bag. Perfect, now he shouldn’t have to share if Roman saw and his mom won’t see and he won’t get in trouble. He still had a random grocery bag, but maybe luck would be on his side. He didn’t want to share any of this. It would throw off the balance of the bags.

The front door unlocked with a click and Remus stepped in, locking up behind himself. He glanced at the wall clock and realized the trip took a solid forty-five minutes longer than it should have. Does talking with weird demons warp time? He hoped he wasn’t in trouble. He could legally be out, but his mother didn’t like him wandering around at night getting in trouble. Remus walked down the hall, waving to his mom in the office. She didn’t even look up from her computer. What was she doing working that late, anyway? 

Roman’s bedroom door was closed as he passed it. Remus sighed as he stepped into his bedroom and closed the door behind him. He had no reason to worry; it seemed. Nobody cared that he came home safe. Remus kicked off his shoes, which thudded on the floor, and dropped off the snacks bag on his desk.

Remus looked around the room and reached into his pocket. Well, it was the moment of truth. Did Remus hate being perceived in the manner he was so much he was willing to literally shorten his lifespan to be something else? He stared at the ribbon. Finding out what it was he could turn into would help him decide, right? This should be an important decision. Or something. He didn’t care anymore. Remus put his foot upon his desk chair and tied the ribbon into a bow on his ankle. As soon as the ribbons pulled into place, Remus felt overwhelmingly dizzy. Like he did a backflip into another dimension and out again.

His brain wasn’t working at first. There was so much new input he didn’t expect that it took him a moment to settle into even comprehending. Things were brighter and louder and stronger smelling. And… taller. Or he was significantly smaller. He did not know yet. Remus stumbled and fell over, reaching up for his head. There were no fingers, though, only a paw pad pressing into a damp nose. Huh. Remus closed his eyes and tried to get his bearings. He swore he had better senses and spatial awareness. Remus wobbled over to the floor-length mirror after he pulled himself up.

That was the largest cat he’d ever seen, staring back at him with bright spring-green eyes in the mirror. It was not a cat breed he’d recognized. He was thick with fluff and had tawny grey fur spotted with black tabby markings. Remus swished his tail and spun around, looking at himself before turning back to the mirror. A big fluffy cat certainly fit the bill. Remus wanted to pet himself, even. 

Walking on all fours didn’t take any adjusting to after he gained his bearings, and there was no pile of clothes where he was, so magic must have been helping Remus to adjust. His tail was weirding him out, though. He could only control it if it consciously focused on it, but otherwise, it swished about without his input.

He licked his paw and ran it across the top of his head to make the big gray tuft there stick straight up. Other than being probably three times the size of his nana’s house cat, Remus was pretty cute. He sat on the floor and examined himself. He couldn't feel the ribbon on his ankle at all. It was barely visible under the fur, too. Normally that lack of balance bothered him, but he barely even noticed it even when focusing on it. The ribbon was just as warm as his skin and felt like nothing was there. It was almost a free pass, though part of him still considered getting a matching ribbon for his other foot. He should turn back into a human, right? No, he should check stuff out to help him decide it this was worth the cost. Remus headed around his room. 

Things were bizarre at this height, but it was an interesting type of strange. Remus weaved under his desk chair and went under the desk. It was a nice hidey-hole as a cat. He disliked small spaces less; it was comfortable under here. He pushed his head on the corner of the desk and his eyes widened. Fuck, that feels nice. No wonder cats do it all the time. Remus pushed his head against the side of the desk a few more times.

Remus looked up at his loft bed. Could he get up there? Remus backed up across the room to get a running start and had to swerve to dodge the bed frame. Fuck, he was faster than he expected. He backed up to jump on top of his dresser instead and made it easily in a single leap. Remus primed himself for the wide gap at the edge of the dresser and bounded, landing easily in the middle of the bed. Wow, he could leap farther than he thought, too. It might have helped that he was big. He dug around in the sheets and curled up. Being a cat wasn’t the most fun possible choice when magic was involved, but he was loving every second of this.

He hopped down with silent ease off the bed and jumped up to work the knob. It took him multiple tries to grip it, but he got the door open and walked next door to Roman’s room. The door was closed, but that was no match for his monster kitty paws now that he knew the trick. Remus opened the door with ease and strutted into the bedroom. Roman was doing homework with his headphones on at the floor-height table. He bounced his knee while he sat bent over the textbook and his notebook, humming along to the music.

“Yeah?” Roman’s eyes moved to the door after a lag while he finished writing something. “Oh!” Roman chuckled to himself. “Did Remus bring you home or something?” Roman asked, holding out his hand. Remus walked up and sniffed Roman’s hand to keep up the act. It smelled strongly of pencil graphite and notebook paper, but there was a faint hint of some sugar cookies under that. 

Remus bumped his head into Roman’s hand and Roman pet him. Remus thought it would feel more like a massage, but it was mostly that the motion was soothing. It made Remus feel safe and comfortable and loved. The petting was smooth and made his brain tingle in the best way. Remus flopped down on the floor next to Roman, who kept petting him. Roman leaned to look into the empty hallway.

“Re?” Roman called out, and Remus meowed in reply. “Hm. You’re very smart to get the door open, but stay out of my mom’s office. She won’t mind if you visit us, but she doesn’t like pets,” Roman warned Remus. He was well aware. Can’t please everyone. Remus laid his head against Roman’s leg and started purring. It must have been reflexive because he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to.

Roman continued petting Remus slowly while he went back to his homework. Remus’s ears twitched at the small noises the pencil made against the paper. He wouldn’t mind just sitting here doing homework quietly with Roman as a human, either. Maybe he could try again. But not right now. He couldn’t describe how happy he was to relax with Roman and get affection like this. It was honestly worth any minutes he lost off the end of his life. 

What were minutes, anyway? They didn’t make a difference in the long run. Remus wasted minutes of his life on absolute shit. This was worth it. Remus closed his eyes and relaxed, listening to the muted sounds of Roman’s music and the rustling of pages while Roman worked. The time passed and Remus never second-guessed the use of his time again.

“Hey, kitty. I’ve got to get ready for bed. C’mon, let’s get you back to Remus,” Roman alerted him, standing up. Roman stretched out his legs. Remus meowed in objection and rubbed against Roman’s jeans. Roman moved past Remus and headed out his bedroom door into the hall. Remus followed, rolling his eyes. Roman pushed open Remus’s door the rest of the way and stuck his head in. “Remus—” Roman stopped talking and looked around the bedroom. 

“Huh. I wonder where he is,” Roman hummed. He squatted down and signed, picking up Remus. “I guess I’ll take you back out myself,” Roman told him, and Remus meowed in objection again. “Sorry, kitty, we don’t have food or a bathroom for you. You can come to visit again, though. I don’t know exactly where Remus found you,” Roman explained evenly and headed downstairs. He unlocked the backdoor and dropped Remus outside. Remus spun around to glare at Roman before bolting back into the house.

“Cat, no!” Roman shot quietly, holding out his hand. Remus bounded up the stairs and rushed into his room. He couldn’t pull the door closed, so he rushed under his loft and yanked at the curtain before pulling off the ribbon with his teeth.

That dimension-hopping sensation overwhelmed Remus again, and he fell against his desk while the world did a triple somersault and took him with it. Remus ran his hand through his hair and exhaled hard, the air hissing through his teeth. He held his head with both hands and filled his lungs completely. The world didn’t smell as strong as a human. He let out the air slowly.

“Kitty,” Roman whispered, sticking his head into Remus’s room. “Kitty, where are you?”

“I’ll handle it, Ro,” Remus informed him, pulling open the curtain on his loft bed to look at Roman.

“Oh! I didn’t see you in there. Cute cat. It’s almost bedtime, so hurry,” Roman waved and stood up straight.

“G’night,” Remus waved back.

“Oh. Yeah. You too,” Roman sighed and turned into the hall. Remus slowly pulled himself up to his feet. The dizziness was all gone, but he was still disoriented from the missing senses and the height. Remus was so tall. How did he never notice?

Remus needed some contingency stuff. He pulled a fashion scarf out of his dresser and tied it onto the doorknob so Remus could pull his door closed. Well, there was still the potential of getting locked out if he left and couldn’t turn back… Remus glanced at the window. It’s the second story, so it’s not a big deal if he left it unlocked, right? Remus didn’t know how he’d get up there just yet, but maybe he could jump from the tree? The gap was wide for a human, but as a cat, he should be okay. Maybe he could change back and move some stuff around in the backyard. Remus unlocked the window with a small nod to himself.

He started to get ready for bed but ended up glancing at the window again. Maybe he should make sure he can make the gap, right? Remus kicked off his socks and opened up the window enough to get out, pulling out the screen and leaning it against the wall. He crawled through and sat on the slanted roof and closed the window again. He took a deep breath of the night air and looked up at the moon. 

A good night to prowl. He tied the ribbon on his ankle and turned into a cat again. It was much easier this time, though it was still extremely disorienting. Remus waited to regain his sense of up and down before standing up and walking along the ledge of the roof towards the big honkin’ American Elm in the backyard. Roman and Remus’s tire swing still hung from a low, thick branch.

Remus primed himself and took a running leap of faith towards the Elm. He soared across the gap easily and ended up overshooting just barely able to sink his claws in another branch in time and avoided hitting one that was on his lower left and tumbled to the ground. Remus scrambled to pull himself up and took a deep breath for his pounding heart.

He looked down, and it looked like he was miles from the ground. He suddenly understood how cats got caught in trees because this was freaky. Remus knew intellectually that he could hop down to a lower branch or jump for the tire swing. The branch he was on didn’t allow for much mobility, so he made a hail-mary for the tire swing, landing in the net over the hole and getting his paw caught while the tire swing swung from the motion. Remus hissed at the net and pulled his foot out carefully before hopping down to the ground.

Well. That was scary-awesome. But Remus was a free cat right now who happened to be able to jump farther than Remus could even comprehend. Remus made a run for the fence and used his back claws to propel himself up the fence and bounded over easily. He jumped down into the grass and ran for the sake of it. 

All the fun of running away without actually doing so. There was a playground they used to go to as kids that Remus wanted to check out. It was long since not fun anymore, but as a cat, who knows? Remus wanted to feel like a kid again. He was too amped up to sleep anyway, and he was once again at a height he could enjoy a playground at and it was all he could think of.

He bounded across yards and down the lane. The public park was between Remus’s neighbourhood and the apartment complex next door, so Remus had to make two blocks on much smaller feet. He was moving much faster, though, and had more endurance. He enjoyed the wind in his face as he ran down the lane.

The playground’s parking lot was lit, but the playground itself sat shrouded in darkness. That was no problem for Remus’s cat eyes, though. They adjusted almost instantaneously as he stepped into the shade and walked into the park. The playscape was probably not comfortable on his paws, but there were other things to check out, still. Remus walked past the play structure. The web might be fun. That was still kind of fun as an adult. The park was technically closed, though, and he couldn’t play on it while kids were here. He could hurt one of them or someone would think he’s a pervert, and he’d get in trouble and go to jail.

Remus wasn’t alone out here. There sat a person who looked Remus’s age sitting on the swings. Their head hung limply, and they held onto the chain at eye height. They were barely swinging at all. It was more like a minor despondent sway. They looked really miserable. Remus couldn’t swing as a cat, but he also was curious about the other stranger. One stranger tonight gave Remus magic powers, so random night strangers were much more interesting now. 

That fact alone made Remus also wanted to return the favour to the universe if he could. The fox-masked being cheered Remus up. Maybe Remus could cheer up the sad person who appeared to be 70% hoodie by volume and kicking at the pebbles under the swings. Remus walked up in front of the person and sat down, meowing. Their head was down and their hood was up, so Remus couldn’t see their face.

The stranger didn’t look up from soundlessly staring down at nothing. Remus stepped closer, meowing again. He looked up at the stranger’s face from the ground. They looked empty. Their eyes were unfocused and their expression was somewhere between numb and desolate. Remus meowed louder, and the stranger blinked. They recoiled their head and rubbed their eyes, blinking a few more times before their eyes focused enough to notice Remus.

“Oh. Hey,” The stranger greeted Remus. Remus rubbed against the person’s legs. He hoped they weren’t allergic. They watched Remus weave around their legs for what felt like an eternity, but they never sniffled, so it seemed okay for now. “You’re really friendly, huh?” The person reached down their hand and Remus bumped into their hand right away.

The sad person let out a weak chuckle through their nose and scratched at Remus’s chin. Remus froze for a moment and pushed down into the stranger’s hand to help them scratch harder. That was better than pets. That made Remus feel like his entire body was tingling with elation. The stranger stopped scratching and sat up on the swing. But Remus wasn’t having that. He jumped up and deposited himself right on the person’s lap.

“Woah,” The stranger seemed amused and went back to gently scratching behind Remus’s ear. Remus purred like a motorboat idling on a lake. One that might explode and kill twenty bystanders and sink a dinghy named Frank. Remus’s back leg twitched automatically as he settled down. He was probably vibrating the entire stranger he purred so hard.

When the stranger stopped again, Remus meowed and licked at their hand, sitting limply next to Remus again. “You’re kind of needy,” The stranger sounded amused, switching to petting Remus with their other hand instead. Remus carefully laid down and licked the stranger’s hand again. 

Remus liked it when cats did this, so he hoped this person would, too. They reached up to rub their eyes again and paused, sniffing the air. They sniffed again and tried smelling where Remus licked them. 

“Fuck, cat, that’s noxious. What the hell did you eat?” They snickered, putting their hand back down. Remus tried to say ‘chips’, but a weird meow came out instead, so he rested his head on the stranger’s hand.

“Do you belong to someone?” The person asked curiously. They sat up more and looked around the area. They dug around at the thick fur on Remus’s neck and hummed in dissatisfaction. “A nice cat like you deserves a good home. It’s not safe out here for you,” They shook their head and went back to petting them. “But thanks for visiting,” They smiled down at Remus. “I’ve got school, I should get going,” They sounded sad, but Remus jumped off and spun around to sit and watch them get up.

The stranger dragged themselves off the swing and waved to Remus. Remus meowed and waved a paw back, which made the stranger give a small smile in return. Remus had school too, so he should probably get home. But he got them to smile, so it satisfied the need to do something nice for the world in return as he bounded down the street back towards his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to [Lallaina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lallaina/pseuds/Lallaina) and [Ocean](https://archiveofourown.org/users/midge1/pseuds/midge1) for being a beta, but also being amazing people!


	2. Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus makes a friend. Kind of.

Roman’s friends were over again the next day. Remus finished his homework and played a game as he normally did after school. The rain in the early afternoon brought cold front. The temperature was warm inside, but he still felt a little chilly. It was good laying-about weather, nice for games and relaxing vibes. Something about warm indoors and cold outdoors just pleases his primitive instincts or something. 

He kicked his feet up on his desk while he reclined and threw satchel charges at an ambulance in the game. He chuckled darkly as the bomb exploded while he went on a rampage down the virtual street. Remus didn’t revel in that he thought about doing it in real life, but he generally felt better after letting things out in a game. Remus heard Patton’s cute laugh through his headphones and it distracted him from the game.

Patton always laughed loudly and with his entire body. He was so happy and lively, and Remus couldn’t help but gravitate towards that. He wanted to feel accepted and supported by Patton. Remus wanted to cuddle Patton. He might even want to kiss him. He wasn’t sure yet. Remus mostly wanted proximity, though, and he could physically do that today thanks to a random magical stranger in the night. 

Remus saved and quit on the spot, putting down the controller on the desk and taking off his headphones. He pulled the ribbon out of his pocket and stared at it for a moment before leaning forward to tie it on himself. Remus re-oriented himself on the computer chair, feeling comfortable and grounded much faster today.

He bounded off the chair and left it spinning, and it bumped against his desk with a clatter. Remus opened his bedroom door with a bump of his head and headed into Roman’s open room. Roman, Logan, and Patton were around the table on the floor playing a card and chatting. Remus sat in the middle of the floor and watched them jealously before meowing to alert them he was here.

“Oh! Hello, kitty!” Roman said brightly, holding out his hand. Remus walked up and pushed into Roman’s hand right away.

“That is a _massive_ cat,” Logan remarked, adjusting his glasses.

“Kitty!” Patton squealed delightedly, holding his fists up to his chest and wiggling his shoulders. The sound was distressingly high and Remus flattened his ears reflexively, but he loved that Patton was excited.

“Remus found it. It’s very smart, I’m pretty certain it opened my door last night after you guys left,” Remus purred happily as Roman rubbed his thumb behind Remus’s ear. Patton scooted closer and Remus didn’t hesitate, depositing himself into Patton’s lap right away. Patton released a high-pitched noise that flattened Remus’s ears once more. He had to shake his head a few times just to stop the ringing. “Maybe don’t make that noise, Pat,” Roman laughed. Patton nodded enthusiastically and started petting Remus with a heavy hand. The added pressure was nice, but it was a little weird feeling over his haunches. Remus shifted to move his hips so Patton couldn’t pet there.

“I believe that is a maine coon. It’s not a breed you would see strays of. Do you think Remus abducted it from someone?” Logan asked, showing a photo of a cat that looked like Remus on his phone. Patton dug in Remus’s neck fur and rubbed Remus the wrong way.

“No collar. An absolute sweetie. It’s like petting a cloud,” Patton cooed, returning to petting Remus more comfortably, and the purr motor started up again. He purred a bit as if he was an electric bike motor that needed maintenance and might stall out and get hit by a truck with the way it warbled. Remus’s foot kicked, and he adjusted again.

“He’s _weird_ , but he wouldn’t up and steal someone’s pet intentionally,” Roman shook his head, reaching out and stroking Remus’s bushy tail once. That ‘brotherly support’ conflicted Remus. He didn’t prefer Roman’s attitude, but he appreciated that Roman believed Remus wouldn’t do that to someone. Remus wasn’t sure about himself, though. It sounded awful to do to someone, but what if he did one day? He wasn’t incapable. He knew how. Fuck. Remus tapped his front paw twice on Patton’s thigh.

“The cat is very socialized for a stray, though,” Logan objected, crossing his arms. Remus glanced up at Logan’s expression. This height was weird, and so was Logan’s face from this angle. He still wasn’t used to seeing people like this.

“It’s probably lonely. Are you lonely, baby? Do you need love?” Patton asked in a high-pitched voice, ruffling at Remus’s fur. Remus mewed in agreement and enjoyed Patton’s warmth.

“You’re _allergic_ to cats,” Logan pointed out, raising his eyebrow.

“Worth it,” Patton grinned brightly, sniffling. Whoops. Remus looked at Patton’s arms. He wasn’t rashing up, so the allergy was probably on the mild side. At least that was something to be happy about. He grumbled at the mysterious fox masked being for not giving him a dog ribbon, but this was still nice.

“I’ll grab some allergy medication,” Roman snickered and stood up from the table and headed out of the bedroom.

“We should take it to a vet and check for a chip,” Logan suggested, and boy did Remus _hate_ that idea. Remus looked up to Logan and hissed at him in protest. Remus had claws, and he wasn’t afraid to use them.

“Oh, kitty doesn’t like that,” Patton chuckled and scratched under Remus’s chin. Remus chattered and dropped his head onto Patton’s hand. “You can check for chips with your phone now, anyway. Just install the app and take it out of the case so it can read it,” Patton informed him, smiling down at Remus affectionately.

“Ah, I was not aware,” Logan hummed, tapping around on his phone.

“Well, it doesn’t work with older chips. But if they chipped it in the last few years it would be, and I’m pretty certain this cat is younger than that. It’s probably two or three years old tops,” Patton replied calmly, relaxing into petting Remus happily.

“Wait, that monstrosity can get _bigger_?” Roman asked incredulously as he walked back into the room. He deposited a bottle of pills next to Patton’s glass of fruit punch.

“Maine coons are notoriously large cats,” Logan nodded, looking impressed.

“Wow. It’s so lucky to see one it feels sort of like finding a four-leaf clover,” Roman smiled and reached out to pet Remus while Patton took the allergy pill with a big glug of fruit punch. It smelled sweet and amazing, and Remus could hear Patton swallow.

“It said they are natural hunters and sturdy cats, but have lots of health risks later in life,” Logan informed them. “It’s ready. Simply pass the phone over the cat’s legs to scan,” Logan handed off his phone to Patton. Patton dutifully worked the phone over each leg.

“Oh, there’s a ribbon tied onto it,” Patton hummed, reaching for the ribbon. Remus flicked his foot away and batted away Patton’s hand. Remus didn’t know how turning back would work, and he didn’t want to deal with that. “I’m just getting it off, kitty,” Patton protested, but Remus shifted his leg under himself and made an annoyed expression at Patton. 

“It likes the ribbon, I guess,” Patton chuckled, handing back Logan’s phone. “No hits. It’s either a stray or untagged,” Patton nodded cheerily. “Which means I can pet it all I like without guilt for now!” He declared, petting Remus with one hand and scratching behind his ear with the other. This was heaven.

“Remus found it, he can handle it. He was probably just lonely and wanted to hang out with this warm purring loaf,” Roman sighed, leaning back on his hands. Remus mewed quietly in agreement. He was lonely, and he wanted to lay on Patton and feel loved and thank you weird fox mask person for reading his mind and making his dreams come true, even if he couldn’t turn into something that didn’t give Patton allergies. Remus enjoyed the closeness and affection with Patton, even if it wasn’t quite the way he wanted it.

“I don’t want to take my hands off the cat. Let’s watch TV instead,” Patton announced resolutely, and Remus chattered in agreement.

“You were about to lose anyway,” Roman held up his hand and Logan groaned in disdain when he glanced over to it.

“That’s fine! Congrats, Roman! I win a kitty, still!” Patton sounded absolutely stoked.

“Maybe Remus adopted it behind your mother’s back,” Logan proposed, pushing his cards to the center of the table with a sour expression.

“I wouldn’t put it past him, he can be impulsive. But this is an uncommon breed, right? Remus couldn’t afford that. Our allowances aren’t that good,” Roman shook his head, leaning over to join Patton in petting. Holy fuck, this was more attention than Remus had gotten in ages. It was almost overwhelming, but it felt just nice enough that it hung on a precarious balance of extreme relaxation and straight-up panicking.

“What’s its sex?” Logan asked curiously, and Remus turned his head to glare at Logan. “Why is the cat glaring at me?” Logan motioned towards Remus. Logan should know what he did. Remus narrowed his eyes as he glowered at him. Remus could suffocate Logan just by lying on his face. Or his fur could get caught up in Logan’s lungs and he’d choke painfully. Remus’s foot felt like it cramped and he winced regretfully. He shouldn’t be thinking that.

“Maybe it thought your question was rude,” Patton chuckled, shaking his head. Remus settled down into the pets again.

“It’s a cat, it doesn’t understand English without extensive training,” Logan objected, flipping his hand at Remus. Remus rolled his eyes and looked away from Logan.

“Well, maybe it’s a trained professional. Kitty, meow if you like skritches,” Roman asked and Remus chattered happily while Patton scratched at his chin.

“A coincidence,” Logan tapped his fingers in a staccato beat on his crossed arms, looking annoyed.

“What’s two plus one, baby?” Patton cooed, still assailing Remus with gentle scratched around the face. Remus meowed three times and started unconsciously kneading Patton’s thigh from all the tender pets and scratches around his ears.

“Amazing. It was incredibly lucky. The internet said this breed to be smart, but it’s even more intelligent than I would assume possible for a young cat,” Logan adjusted his glasses and moved closer. Patton took his hand off and let Logan tentatively pet Remus’s head. 

Roman picked up the remote and turned on the TV, setting it to some swords and sorcery show. Remus didn’t particularly care what was on the TV. He had enough sensory input going on without adding visuals. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed being petted and being on Patton’s soft thighs.

Logan and Roman stopped petting him over the course of the show. It appeared for the occasional gentle pet from Patton while they watched. Logan was criticizing the show and Roman always cited, “It’s _magic_ , Logan,” sarcastically in response. Patton reacted to the show intensely, talking to the characters and pointing out potential symbolism. It annoyed Roman, but he said little in protest. Logan enjoyed discussing the symbolism, but he was clearly much more entertained by poking holes in the show. 

Roman even got up and made them popcorn to snack on while they watched. He was so warm and cozy in Patton’s lap that he ended up drifting towards sleep. It was so easy to nap while being a cat. He felt the tingle of rest and embraced it, letting him slip away into a comfortable nap.

— 🐾 —

“Baby, I’ve got to head home,” Patton pat Remus’s haunches and whispered. Remus blinked a few times and yawned widely. “Oh, good yawn,” Patton cooed, scratching Remus’s chin twice. Remus hopped off Patton’s lap and stretched out. He could stretch so deeply and fluidly as a cat. Patton bent down to pet Remus’s head once more. “Bye-bye, baby,” Patton’s voice was bittersweet as he yawned.

“Maybe you should drive Patton home,” Logan looked worriedly at Roman and helped Patton balance as he wobbled slightly. He nearly touched his face with the cat dander on his hands, so Remus meowed loudly to warn him, batting at his shoe. 

“Hm?” Patton looked in confusion for a moment before he noticed his hand next to his face. “Oh, thanks, kitty. Let me go wash my hands. Will you drive me home, Ro? I’m really drowsy,” Patton asked tiredly and looked to Roman.

“Yes, of course,” Roman nodded and walked over to put his hand on Patton’s back, leading him to the bathroom.

“You are very interesting,” Logan squatted down to pet Remus’s head before following them out of Roman's room. Remus sat there and watched them leave. 

He looked around the bedroom and thought this would be the perfect time to wreak some havoc in Roman’s bedroom and get away with it. Remus could knock over some books or pee in Roman’s shoes. He could tear up a pillow or maybe steal Roman’s computer mouse. But a snack sounded better than all of that. He was oddly hungry for having eaten dinner not that long ago.

Remus walked into his room and pulled the door closed by biting on the scarf. Once he heard the latch click, he pulled off the ribbon between his teeth and found himself sitting on the floor with the ribbon in his mouth. He jammed it in his pocket and walked downstairs to go to the kitchen. Remus raided the fridge and shoved a handful of sandwich meat into his mouth while he dug around in the fridge for something quick to eat.

“Don’t eat out of the fridge,” His mother sighed, walking into the kitchen. Remus shot straight and put away the deli meat container. He pulled out a few carrot sticks and munched on those next to the sink instead of out of the fridge. “I suppose that’s slightly better. Your hair is everywhere, please go shower after your snack,” His mom put her hand on Remus’s shoulder in a single pat before refilling her water and leaving the kitchen again. Remus's shoulder felt weird and he tried to roll them out, but his other shoulder didn't feel right.

Remus chewed slowly, watching her go. His mom was always tired. Remus finished his carrot sticks and headed to the bathroom. He was still hungry, but he didn’t want to annoy his mom. With Roman out, it was the perfect time to shower. Using up the hot water heater was probably more satisfying than peeing in his shoes, anyway. And maybe the water will help his other shoulder feel more balanced.

After he showered, he chucked his old clothes in the laundry basket and flopped down at his desk. He went to pull the towel off his head, but the ribbon was in his hand. Huh. He must have forgotten it in his other pants. Having it reappear was very convenient. Remus put it down on the desk and leaned back in the chair, glancing at his computer screen. He could go on Twitter and give some people hell. He had that option. Remus booted up his laptop to just vaguely dick around before bed.

His eyes kept glancing at the ribbon, though. He should focus on the game he was playing. He had crewmates to kill. But there was that sad person in the park yesterday. And Remus got the impression it wasn’t the first time they went there alone. And Remus also had the feeling they were out there again. Remus had a lot of kinship for random people alone in the night, it seemed. He just got attached easily and could have just been only hoping.

It wouldn’t hurt to go look, right? A delightful walk might help him fall asleep. He was napping, and he’d have trouble getting to sleep soon, anyway. Well, maybe technically it would hurt his lifespan. But that was future-Remus’s problem.

Remus crawled out the window and shut it in nothing but a pair of pyjama pants. It was colder than Roman’s shower would be tonight until he tied the ribbon on his ankle and it covered him in a thick blanket of cat fur. Remus ran around the roof to the front of the house along the small lip, barely even fazed by the transformation. He jumped down on top of the dumpster and bounded away towards the park. 

The chilly wind in his fur felt so refreshing and bolting in the grass made Remus feel whole in a way he didn’t understand. Maybe he had cat desires while he was a cat? He knew deep inside that running in the night was where he was supposed to be.

The person was sitting in the same swing again. They sat buried in a zipped-up hoodie and they were curled into themselves on the seat. Their feet dangled in the pebbles while they sat with their hands in their hoodie pockets, elbows locked around the rubber-coated chains of the swing. Remus walked up to them and meowed. They raised their head right away this time, looking confused until Remus got closer to them.

“Oh. It’s bad breath cat. Did you come to see me again?” They asked, sounding tired. Remus mewed in response and rubbed against their legs, trying to tell them that he did. “You know, you’re the only one I’ve talked to in four days?” They stated sullenly. Remus’s tail swished and dropped. “And you can’t even talk back,” They whispered. Remus chattered to object, and they chuckled weakly.

“Okay, so you can kind of talk. My mistake. I just don’t speak cat. It does kind of seem like you understand me. I don’t know if I’m just imagining things, though,” Remus pushed against their legs again. “Oh, you’re warm. Do you want to come up?” The stranger sat up more and Remus hopped up onto their lap. They took their hands out of their pockets and hugged Remus. “All that fur must be nice in this weather,” They hummed. Remus agreed, purring in their lap.

“Um, do you mind if I talk to you? I’m barely used to the sound of my own voice,” They asked dourly and Remus rubbed against their cheek in agreement. “Oh, you smell kind of like cinnamon today,” They hummed in surprise, sniffing at Remus’s fur. “Isn’t cinnamon dangerous for cats?” They sat back and examined Remus. Remus looked them right in the eyes. He was a magic cat and not concerned with that, it was just his body wash. He was more concerned about this person who hadn’t spoken to anything in three days. 

“You seem okay,” They nodded to themself and Remus mewed softly in response. “It’s kind of nice, honestly. I like the smell. My dad used to make me monkey bread when I was a kid. I miss him,” They stroked deliberately at Remus’s fur, leaning against the chain on one side.

“It feels kind of weird to talk without knowing your name. Do you have one?” They asked, rubbing their thumb on Remus’s cheek. Remus let out a cracked meow in response since he couldn’t exactly tell them. “Oh, right,” They exhaled through their nose humorously. “Okay. A name. I know you have noxious breath and I’ve only seen you at night,” They thought to themselves, tilting their head. They tapped their chin and brainstormed for a few moments. “Oh. Nox is night in Latin. It’s perfect,” They pet Remus’s head, and he rumbled a purr loudly in agreement. He thought it was a cool name to get dubbed. 

“Nice to meet you, Nox. I’m Virgil,” They smiled and held up a hand. Remus put his paw on it to shake it, and Virgil chuckled lightly. “You can do some cool things. I hope you don’t mind that it’s technically a feminine word. I don’t think it matters, though. They’re just sounds,” Virgil added. Remus just pushed his head into Virgil’s hand again. “Doesn’t seem like you care. Is it nice being a cat?” Virgil asked. Remus mewed to tell them it was. “I’m glad,” Virgil smiled weakly.

“I’m kind of jealous. The wrong thing always seems to come out of my mouth. I freak out and get angry and say things I regret. And I can be defensive to a fault. If I was a cat, I couldn’t do that anymore. I’d love to just exist. Humans can’t just _exist_. It’s not allowed,” Virgil sighed blearily. Holy shit did Remus relate. He pushed into Virgil, trying to share the warmth. 

“My dad and I got into a fight about it. I get that he just wants me to succeed. I know he cares about me. But I called him out and insulted him, and he looked really hurt. He’s supposed to come to take me home for weekends and visit me on Wednesday nights. He never showed up last night. I don’t think he’s coming tomorrow. He’s the only person who really gets me and I pushed him away,” Virgil sighed despondently, looking out into the night.

“This can’t be what adulthood is like, right? Is it really this lonely? I know I struggle with keeping friendships, but it seems like no one is willing to try. Seniors, I guess, decide they’re locked in with their current friend group? I… tried to befriend this guy. He has a short temper like me, so I thought we’d get along. He wouldn’t even acknowledge me. I knew going in that he was kind of a diva but he just pretends he can’t hear me. I still think he’s cute, too. What does that say about me?” Virgil’s face had an empty smile. 

“I think I’ve just given up on trying. Just a few more months till college, right? Dad used to say I’d come into my own then. I really don’t know if I will. You piss off the wrong guy and suddenly nobody will talk to you. He was being a jerk, you know? Joke’s on _me_ , though,” Virgil groaned and pulled their hood tighter. Remus mewed sadly and pushed against Virgil’s face again.

“You’re an extraordinary listener, Nox. I don’t know exactly how you make me feel heard, but you do,” Virgil pet Remus’s head and pressed their cheek right against Remus’s. Virgil shivered and pulled Remus close again. “Hey, you’re a stray or something, right? You’re probably hungry. Do you want to come back to my apartment? It’s freezing and I just don’t want to go home alone,” Remus hopped off of Virgil’s lap and meowed, waiting for them. He was always down for food. “Wow, okay, jeez,” Virgil chuckled, holding up their hands and getting up from the swing. They shook again and gripped themself.

“I don’t suppose you’d let me carry you to steal your warmth?” Virgil asked and Remus hopped right into Virgil’s chest. Virgil stumbled back on one foot, trying to catch him, but he settled into Virgil’s arms easily. “You are way better than gloves,” Virgil sounded amused and started walking towards the apartment complex on the other side of the park. It would be a long walk home for Remus, but he didn’t want to go home alone right now, either. Maybe his feral cat brain wanted the free food, too.

Virgil huddled into Remus while they walked hurriedly through the night. They pushed a keycode into the pedestrian gate and Virgil kept walking hastily, trying to get out of the chill and get home. It was a bumpy ride, but it was kind of like a weird roller coaster with the odds of him getting beheaded being way lower. Well, that depends on if Virgil was quick and had a cleaver, maybe. He could still get beheaded. Or he could do the beheading. It was hard to behead someone, and he didn’t think he had the arm strength, at least. Remus’s foot twitched while he adjusted himself.

“I like it when you chatter like that,” Virgil snickered, shifting Remus so they could reach into their pocket and get out their keys. Was Remus talking to himself? He would have scared Virgil off if he said all that out loud, probably. Thanks again to weird fox mask beings for this language barrier that prevented Virgil from hearing about decapitation.

“Um, welcome to my apartment. Make yourself at home, just don’t pee on anything,” Virgil pushed open the door and stepped in, locking up behind themself. Remus rolled his eyes as he walked in. He stayed in Virgil’s arms until Virgil deposited Remus on a kitchen pass-through. It looked like a small breakfast bar. Remus glanced around the apartment. It was small, but it was very nice. The wall had a built-in bookshelf and desk area near the door, a dining room, and a big couch with a TV in the living room. The couch had a pile of blankets that looked very cozy.

“Hold on, let me double-check this stuff is safe for cats,” Virgil held up a finger and pulled out their phone. They furrowed their eyebrows at the screen and clicked on the ceiling light absent-mindedly. Remus’s eyes adjusted, but the sudden brightness temporarily blinded him. “Okay, this is safe,” Virgil nodded and reached into the fridge, pulling out a bag of sliced grilled chicken and dumping it on a saucer. They placed the saucer in front of Remus and he leaned down to take a bite.

Eating as a cat was kind of weird and hard to chew, but the grilled chicken was good. Virgil poured some from the bag on a second saucer and put that one in the microwave. Remus worked on eating his pieces while Virgil waited for it to nuke. 

Remus always thought microwaves were weird. You can make a bomb with it, but you can’t kill an ant. Remus enjoyed putting metal in microwaves to see the light show, but his mom yelled at him for it. She was right to. He could start a fire and burn the whole house down. He tapped his front paw while he ate. 

Virgil chuckled to themself watching Remus. The microwave beeped and Virgil squirted ketchup on the warmed plate. They started eating with a fork along with Remus. The chicken was a little tough, but he ate everything on the plate and was comfortably sated. Remus sat back and licked his lips and stuck out his tongue when it stuck.

“It’s cute when you chat while you eat. Kind of dry, isn’t it? Let me get you a drink,” Virgil mumbled as he gnawed on a piece of chicken and pulled out a small bowl, and poured a small amount of milk into it. “I just found out that cats can’t have regular milk, but I’m also lactose intolerant. It’s supposed to be a safe sometimes-food,” Virgil picked up the little bowl of milk and put it in front of Remus. Virgil drank a sip straight out of the carton before putting it back in the fridge.

How the hell? Cats drink by making a bowl with their tongues, right? Remus licked at the milk fruitlessly a few times until he figured out how to do it just by letting instinct take over. Milk was extra-amazing as a cat. It tasted different from what he was used to, just like the chicken. His taste buds must be a cat’s and not human, which made sense. But Remus didn’t think he’d ever had lactose-free milk, either. 

He was very thirsty and finished the whole bowl, sitting back again and licking the milk off his lips and whiskers. Virgil chuckled and grabbed a paper towel, dampening it and wiping off Remus’s head. Remus chirped his thanks. Virgil finished the last of their chicken and rinsed off all the dishes.

“I suppose you want to go now that I’ve fed you? That would track,” Virgil asked, and Remus jumped off the counter. Virgil sighed and went around to the front door. Remus walked right past them and jumped up onto the couch and looked at Virgil expectantly. “Wait, where are you going?” Virgil asked. They unlocked the front door and held it open. Remus just stared at them and flicked his tail. “You want to stay? Okay,” Virgil smiled and locked the door again. “I guess you want to watch TV?” Virgil tried to confirm. Remus liked the sound of that and he meowed jauntily.

“Oh. Cool. Do you want to watch my favourite show?” Virgil came around and sat on the couch, picking up the remote. Remus meowed again, walking right behind where Virgil sat. “It’s about a witch and she jumps between worlds. She has to keep her witch life secret from her human one. She has limited powers in the human world and sometimes has to fight off other stuff. There are lots of fun things along with the fights and action, and the magic world is really cool looking,” Virgil explained excitedly, sitting on one leg as they pressed play. Remus couldn’t sit on them in that position and squinted at them, trying to figure out how to solve it.

He batted at Virgil’s face gingerly to get their attention. “What?” Virgil asked, turning to look at him. Remus pushed their chest with his paws. “Oh, do you want to sit on me again?” Virgil smiled and shifted to sit sideways on the couch. Remus stepped off and laid down on Virgil’s stomach and chest, knocking them over to recline on the blanket pile.

Virgil reached up to scratch at Remus’s chin, and the purr motor went on full blast again. They kept one hand on Remus and turned to watch the show. Virgil set it to episode one for Remus, which was incredibly considerate for someone to do for a cat. Virgil seemed to understand Remus, though. Papping Virgil in the face with a paw and pushing on them was not the ideal way to ask to sit differently, but they knew right away. Remus wondered if this was magic bullshit or if Virgil just really vibed with cats.

Remus watched the show with interest. Virgil was completely rapt while they watched, eyes locked on the screen. Remus settled onto his side to see the screen easier and laid his head down to enjoy. He liked the premise and the effects for the magic were awesome looking, so Remus slipped into it, too. The exposition didn’t explain why she switched worlds every day and other people didn’t, but that must have been some plot thing later on. The witch had friends in both worlds but had to keep her other lives secret for some reason, and she ended up feeling very isolated.

It wasn’t exactly the way he thought it would happen, but Remus kind of made a friend. He hoped he did? Maybe? Well, Nox made a friend, technically. It was still Remus. Nox was a very cool nickname from a friend. A new friend who didn’t know he wasn’t just a hyper-intelligent cat. This felt a little weird, right? No, this was easy and Remus should let it be easy. But—Remus’s leg twitched a few times before he settled down to appreciate the killer fight sequence in the magic world with Virgil.

— 🐾 —

An annoying pitchy sound perked up Remus’s ears, and he yawned widely before opening his eyes. He saw Virgil pawing around for their phone and an ‘are you still watching?’ alert from the TV. It was also suspiciously bright in here. Shit. He fell asleep as a cat in someone else’s house! There goes fucking six hours of his life he didn’t even get to enjoy. Well, he got to sleep with someone. That’s a milestone, right?

“Oh, fuck,” Virgil groaned. “Hey, I gotta hurry,” Virgil told him pleadingly and Remus jumped off. Virgil ran into the bathroom. They were out a few minutes later and Remus tagged in to use the restroom while it sounded like Virgil was tearing apart their bedroom. 

“Where the hell did I leave my uniform?” Virgil shouted while Remus washed his hands. He blinked in confusion at his reflection in the mirror. Holy fuck, he was shirtless, and he was positive he was about to be late for school. Remus tied on the ribbon again and waited anxiously by the front door.

Virgil came stumbling out of the bedroom in a button-down and slacks with a blazer and backpack in tow. Remus stood up and looked expectantly at Virgil, who held open the door to let Remus out before following and locking the door behind them. 

“Thanks!” Virgil and Remus took off across the hallway towards the stairs. Shit, Remus had to get home. He followed Virgil to the pedestrian gate. “Hope to see you if dad doesn’t come,” Virgil nodded to Remus who bolted off towards the park. He could fucking book it as a cat, but there was no way he wouldn’t be exceptionally late for school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to [Lallaina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lallaina/pseuds/Lallaina) for beta-ing but also being an amazing person!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for Reading!
> 
> ♪ [Tied in Green Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0A402UBd41x3sCkm1GhNVH?si=0eca5ce93e8248e7) ♫
> 
> Questions, comments, concerns, criticisms, incoherent screaming, quotes you just liked, a string of emojis you like, and memes all welcome in the comment section below. They empower the creativity demon. Even an extra <3 in the comments as another kudos is appreciated.
> 
> [Story Discord Server](https://discord.gg/ThcDBSP)
> 
> updates/sanders sides tumblr: [@onthevirgeofdestruction](https://onthevirgeofdestruction.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Recommendations from my work with similar themes to pass the time? Why of course! Are you in it for Vimus action? It's platonic, but [Painful Death](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687501) is chock full of it! No, no, you want stuff that's not mature-rated? Try the [Gays Who Panic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24243988/chapters/64607956). It's short and has a little romantic dukexiety near the end. You just want some nice emotional hurt/comfort to go with your emotional/hurt comfort? [A Whole Castle](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24402835) is overflowing with it. More teenage angst? [Dreaming While I Wake](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23748232) is 99.99% angst by volume. You're demanding fluff to lift your mood? You don't mind the mature rating? You're a fan of modern with magic setting? [Plea for my New Self](https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002264) is the gay vampire content for you. Thanks for considering and see you next time, I hope!


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